Lead Me into Your Arms
by Rehaniah
Summary: Hermione attends a party at Malfoy Manor and proceeds to wander off - guess who finds her! Note: Same plot as my other fic 'Drag me into your arms' but features a nice Lucius instead


**IMPORTANT!!! PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING!! Now that I have your attention :) This story has the EXACT SAME PLOT as my other story 'Drag me into your Arms'. This is because I wrote this story first but I wasn't entirely happy with the way that Lucius turned out - he was very understanding, considerate etc., and even though I do like this story I found myself writing another one which had Lucius behaving in a more unfeeling way. But that means that ****these two stories are very similar in descriptions and plot****. Therefore, ****you will see a lot of stolen phrases and descriptions that also appear in my other fic****. **

**I know that this makes it seem like I haven't tried but I did mean to write only the one story and I simply wrote the other one as an exercise to see if I could make Lucius less understanding and more cold towards Hermione. **

**Anyway, now that I've warned you of that, feel free to carry on reading but please don't flame me saying that this plot is no different from my other story because ****it isn't meant to be****. **

**Thank you & hope you enjoy…**

**Disclaimer: All recognizable settings and characters belong to J K Rowling. I do not make any money from this work.**

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****Lead Me into Your Arms**

"Just come with me Hermione please!" The youngest Weasley was actually _on her knees _beside the desk where Hermione was researching her latest assignment.

"Ginny-"

"You've been so understanding about me and Draco and no one else will even speak to me. _Please_ Hermione. I wouldn't ask but I don't want to be there on my own, even though I know Draco will be there. I just want someone who I know will talk to me, who I know is on my side-"

"Ginny. You must have known that this is how it would be when you became Draco's girlfriend-"

"I know, I know! But it's only one night. And Draco really wants to go. I mean, he hasn't pressured me into it or anything, but I know he wants to go and I do want to go with him but I'm just so nervous and… I just want someone to go with me …" Ginny's wide, pleading eyes managed to make their way into her line of vision. Merlin, that girl could make a sad puppy look like an amateur.

Hermione closed her eyes and took a very deep breath before letting it out slowly, resignedly,

"Fine. I'll go with you-"

"You will!" Ginny squealed and crushed Hermione into a hug whilst simultaneously bouncing up and down, "Thank you! Oh thank you thank you thank-"

"_But_ I will leave if you and Draco suddenly disappear together or your lover-boy tries to get rid of me by pushing me off to talk to his slimy friends. Are we clear?"

Ginny vigorously nodded her head, even though Hermione would bet she had only heard half of what she had just said.

"Of course, of course! I'll stay right by you. Oh thank you Mione! You're so wonderful!" Ginny once again gave a tight squeeze which Hermione half-heartedly returned.

"Ok I've got to go." Ginny cried, grabbing her discarded bag and cloak from the nearby armchair. "I've got to tell Draco and pick out what I'm going to wear oh! And I've got to pick out something for you to wear too-"

"Excuse me?! Why do you have to pick out something for me to wear?" Hermione demanded.

"Oh! I didn't mean any offence-"

Cynically, Hermione thought that Ginny must really have been grateful to her; she was not normally so considerate of other people's feelings. Not that she meant to be hurtful, most of the time, she was just a very blunt sort of girl.

"-but it's just that all your robes are a bit worn and I thought you might like something nice. Draco will buy it-"

"Thank you but no. I assure you I will be able to scrounge some half-decent attire for one evening." She felt a twinge of guilt at her sharp tone and added, more gently,

"Thank you anyway. You just find something for you to wear ok?"

"Ok. Thanks again for doing this Mione!" Ginny hurried out of Hermione's living room turned study.

Once Hermione heard the front door slam, she gave up all pretence of trying to work and leaned her head back against her chair.

_Damn._ She should never have agreed to that. There were so many reasons why it was a bad idea. Firstly, Hermione didn't really believe that Ginny was as in love with Draco Malfoy as she proclaimed to be. Hermione believed that Draco was, maybe even subconsciously, a way for Ginny to get back at Harry when it hadn't worked out between the two of them. Though Hermione admitted, albeit very begrudgingly, that Ferret-boy (must really stop calling him now that Ginny's with him) did act differently around the fiery-haired witch. He acted more … caring, and just … less like a complete arse. Hermione could never quite work out if he acted like that to impress Ginny … or if he acted like that because he did genuinely care about the girl…

The second very valid reason that she shouldn't have allowed Ginny to wheedle an agreement out of her was that Harry and Ron would give her hell for it. They had both been absolutely furious when they had found out that Ginny had been seeing Malfoy and had flat-out refused to speak to her when it became clear that she wasn't about to end it with him no matter what they said or who they threatened. They had also been increasingly hard on Hermione for continuing to stay friendly with Ginny. But Hermione was only human; When Ginny had appeared on her doorstep, being so distraught that she could barely speak and just needing to know that there was one person who didn't fervently wish her and her lover dead, Hermione could hardly turn her away, not when her family had done the exact same thing. So, Hermione had taken in the troubled girl and allowed her to share the small flat that she rented. On the basis that she would never, _never_ bring Draco over to visit and that if she even contemplated sneaking him into her room for some late-night activities, she would be out on the street before she could say 'Merlin's underpants'.

The third reason was that Hermione hated parties. She hated standing around doing nothing but eating, drinking and gossiping when her time could be spent so much more productively. But worse than that, she _hated_ parties that would be solely attended by Malfoy's friends and acquaintances, namely; Slytherins who had managed to not only survive the war but inveigle themselves out of any bad press through bribery and claims that 'Really we had no idea that when Voldermort declared he wanted all muggle-borns and half-bloods eradicated, he meant that he wanted them _killed_. Why, we would never have gone along with him if we'd known _that_.' Hermione snorted in disgust. Not only had many purebloods survived but their belief that they were better than everyone else was just as strong as ever; they just didn't go around shouting about it like they used to. Especially not now that Kingsley Shacklebolt was Minister.

Then, of course, there was the final reason why she should never have said yes to Ginny. And that reason was … _him_. Malfoy senior to be exact. He worked at the ministry doing … Hermione never quite found out what. But he was always there. And nearly always watching her. Oh, he hadn't done anything to her, except make up excuses to speak with her, ask her what latest project she was involved in. She was always coldly polite to him when he did so. And in truth, the type of truth that she would never admit to anyone, she supposed she didn't necessarily _mind_ his presence, had even had one or two very interesting discussions with him when her guard had been down, but she found his attentions … disconcerting. She couldn't work him out. Couldn't work out the motives behind his actions … and in the back of her mind, was scared to try to.

Nonetheless, she was sure he would be there on Friday and she really, _really_ didn't want to see him.

**********

"Hey Grang- I mean Hermione."

"Draco." Hermione nodded her head in the blonde boy's direction. He had been leaning up against the gate of the Manor when both Ginny and Hermione apparated before him; Hermione's distrustful mind hadn't wanted to apparate right inside the Manor like the rest of the guests since, knowing her luck, she would have turned around and _he'd_ have been standing there. Now ferret-face (_stop calling him that!_) walked languidly towards them before swooping down and giving Ginny a quick kiss on the lips. In the pale glow of the evening light, Hermione could see the boy's face soften just slightly as he looked down upon her companion,

"Hi." Even his voice had changed, it had turned softer, a tone Hermione had never heard him use before.

"Hi yourself." Ginny's smile light up her face. Hermione glanced away from what seemed like a strangely intimate moment between the couple. Anyone would think that they hadn't seen each other for weeks rather than mere hours.

She looked out towards the towering Mansion where muffled voices were coming from. Even from this distance you could see it's splendour, highlighted by numerous lights twinkling merrily.

"Mione? Shall we go?" She noticed Ginny and Malfoy standing arm-in-arm looking at her.

"Yes, sure." She walked quietly alongside the couple towards Malfoy Manor, trying in vain to ignore the uncomfortable knot in her stomach.

**********

Merlin this party was just as bad as she'd suspected. Worse, in fact.

True, Ginny hadn't left her side but that had meant that Hermione had had to go round the room with both her and Draco while he had introduced them to all his friends. Admittedly, his friends hadn't sneered and snorted half as much as Hermione had expected them to, obviously Draco had primed them before hand, but it still was by far one of the most boring nights of her life.

She hadn't eaten or drunk anything. Despite all evidence to the contrary, her mind refused to allow her to ingest anything prepared for a Slytherin party (even though, technically, they weren't at Hogwarts anymore, the same principles still applied). Although, she didn't truly believe that even Malfoy would go to all the trouble of being loyal to Ginny for over a year in order to invite both of them to a huge party so as to poison them with the champagne. Nevertheless her hands went on being empty and her mouth went on being dry.

The only good thing about this evening was that she hadn't seen _him_. Though admittedly, she found that slightly curious since it was his house where the party was being held, yet he appeared to not even have attended.

She had found herself wanting to ask Draco where he was but hadn't wanted to draw attention to the fact that she'd noticed his absence.

*********

_Merlin! How many friends has Malfoy got?! He was a pompous git, how many people wanted to know him?! _

_Surely all these people didn't need to be introduced to, 'This is my girlfriend Ginny. Oh, and this is her friend, Hermione Granger.' _

She had had enough of being a third wheel,

"Listen Ginny, I'm going to go-" She said while Malfoy was busy conversing with yet more of his 'friends', his arm still clamped round Ginny.

"No! Mione you can't go! Please, I'm still really nervous around these people and it's comforting knowing you're here. Please stay." Again that beseeching look. Again Hermione's long-suffering sigh,

"Fine, but I can't stand being introduced to any more of Draco's friends-"

"Oh don't worry he's almost done. Then there's going to be dancing."

_Dancing?! We've already been here for a hundred thousand years - don't these people ever want to go back to their homes?!?_

"How … lovely. But if you'll excuse me, I need to use the bathroom." _I'll just sneak off, let Ginny see that she'll get along fine without me and then be able to go back to my flat and finally go to bed._

"Oh, um, ok. I think it's up those stairs to the left, then to the right, then … along a really long corridor and then… oh I can't remember! I'll ask Draco." She turned towards the platinum-haired boy before Hermione hurriedly grabbed her arm, turning Ginny back to face her,

"No no! That's fine. I'm sure I'll find it. I have a great sense of direction." _Who are you kidding?!_ She hurried away before Ginny could say anything. She didn't actually need the bathroom, she hadn't had anything all evening. All she needed to do was get away so that Draco could make Ginny feel at home without her and then, when he had … back to her blessed flat and to some blessed sleep.

She made her way up the stairs that Ginny had pointed out, in case the redhead was watching, and found herself walking down a large corridor. There were a few guests here and there but Hermione had no desire to engage in conversation with any of them so she kept walking.

Up another flight of stairs and down yet another corridor and Hermione found herself alone. She leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. Now, all she had to do was wait for a bit. She closed her tired eyes.

Then flew them open again when she heard someone walking down the stairs at the end of the corridor, the ones that led to the floor above. _Crap! Can't those stupid guests stay where they're supposed to!_ She could imagine that it looked a bit suspicious with her just milling around an empty corridor. What if someone thought she was trying to steal something?! She turned to head back the way she had come but realised that the person was almost at the bottom of the stairs and would see her at any moment. If she started hurrying away, it really would look suspicious. So she quickly turned towards a small painting that was hanging up on the wall beside her and attempted to look thoughtful. Not thoughtful like 'How can I get this no-doubt valuable painting out of here without anyone noticing' but thoughtful like 'My what an interesting painting this is, as an obvious art connoisseur I can appreciate the subtle use of all the different types of brown that the artist has included in this marvellous piece of work.' Hopefully the person would just walk right by her and carry on to wherever they were headed.

She heard the feet reach the bottom of the flight of stairs and then stop abruptly. _Continue to look interested Hermione, like someone who actually enjoys looking at a painting of … a cow?! Merlin, these purebloods had weird tastes._

"Hermione?" Her head snapped in the direction of the voice. _Oh shit!_

"M-Mr Malfoy." Her voice sounded rather hoarse from shock and her wide eyes couldn't help but take in his attire. He wore a deep blue, almost navy, shirt with sleeves that had been rolled up to his elbows and casual black slacks. Hermione's eyes widened even further at the sight of his bare feet before quickly looking back up to his face. It seemed oddly improper to witness something as homely as trousers with bare feet on someone like Mr Malfoy, whom she had only ever seen in a formal setting.

She noticed that his eyes were watching her intently with something akin to shock, and again she felt that disconcerting feeling that she always got around him creeping up on her.

"I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to disturb you or anything." _Not that I knew you were here._ "I was just er - looking for the bathroom."

"Draco didn't tell me that you were going to be here tonight." He was still examining her very closely and had slowly begun to make his way towards her.

"No, well … I didn't even know I was going to be here tonight until Ginny persuaded me to come two days ago." She felt flustered and unsure, two feelings that she did not cope well with.

"I see." He stopped about two feet away from her. Not quite close enough to touch, but not far enough away so as to make her feel secure either.

"Well I should probably go." She said in a rather high pitched voice as she quickly turned her back on him and began to hurriedly walk away whilst trying not to look as though she was hurrying, "I'm very sorry to have bothered you." She called over her shoulder. _Almost there, almost at the end of the corridor, almost to other people, other wonderful people- _

A hand caught her elbow, not enough to really hurt, but enough to make her realise she wasn't going anywhere easily. She instinctively turned her head and found Malfoy's awfully close to her.

"I thought you needed the bathroom? It's this way." He said gently but inexorably steering her back down the corridor, away from the party, away from everyone else…

She had no idea why she was letting him lead her so docilely. She certainly didn't want to go with him … probably. Yet she allowed him to guide her up the flight of steps that he had come down, onto another landing and down another corridor. Then up some more stairs and down yet another corridor.

All the time he kept his eyes on her and she endeavoured to keep her eyes on him, although not knowing the terrain that meant that she kept stumbling over things; steps, rugs, dainty table legs. Yet he never let her fall.

He stopped outside a door unidentifiable from the rest that lined the corridor where they currently stood. She now had no idea how to get back to the party and a sneaking suspicion in the back of her mind told her that that was what Malfoy had intended all along. There was no way that the other guests would have had to come this far just to relieve themselves.

"Here we are." He reached for the gold handle and opened the door to reveal a lavish bathroom ornately furnished in gold and cream.

His hand slowly, almost reluctantly, let go of her elbow to hang back by his side. He still had yet to look away from her. Hermione couldn't help but wonder if she had something on her face that kept making him stare at her like that. Part of her knew that she didn't and that it was a completely different reason as to why Malfoy wouldn't take his eyes off her. Yet her always rational and quite often low self-esteemed mind refused to allow that thought to have any sway. So she looked away from the towering man in front of her and muttered a quiet thank you before slipping into the room and quickly closing the door.

She made her way over to the large mirror above the sink and examined her face. Nope, nothing there. _Did you really expect there would be?_

She stepped back and looked around the room. _Hm … How the other half live indeed. You could fit twenty of my bathrooms in here. _As per usual when she found a situation she didn't know how to handle, her mind would try and focus on anything but the problem at hand, a talent both useful and incredibly vexing at the same time.

She looked towards the door. She was unable to hear anything but she knew he was out there waiting for her and she couldn't very well hide in here forever. _But my, that does sound tempting… _

She pulled the chain on the unused loo and began washing her hands. She had never washed her hands more thoroughly in her life. Then she took extra care to scrupulously dry them using the fluffy white towel. Painstakingly slowly she refolded the towel and place it back on it's hanger…

_Now, is there anything else I can do to forestall the inevitable I wonder?_ She let her eyes meander around the room again. Too bad the window was too small for her to climb out of. Maybe if she transfigured herself into a rat, no no, _a flying squirrel _because _then_ she wouldn't have to plummet to her death once she'd made it outside of the now suffocating room. She could just sail off into the night on her … what did flying squirrels have again? Wings? Flappers? Propellers?

A soft clearing of the throat outside forced her addled brain back to the daunting present. _Damn! _If only she could have let her mind fizzle away with completely random, inconsequential escapism for a few more moments…

She walked over and opened the door again, trying not to look as though she'd just been contemplating turning herself into a flying squirrel and leaving the man before her to wait outside his bathroom door all night.

"Patagium!"

A small frown creased the otherwise wrinkle-free forehead of the blonde-haired wizard currently standing in front her,

"Excuse me?" he drawled, looking mildly curious.

"Er - patagium. It's the name of the extension of skin on a flying squirrel's arm that enables them to glide."

A moment of silence.

"Oh. I see."

Hermione quickly looked away as she felt her face heat up with embarrassment. _Merlin! She definitely had not meant to say that! Damn damn damn her stupid scattered-brained mind!_

She tensed as she felt his large hand once again come to rest just above her elbow. She once more allowed herself to be gently led a bit further along the hall until they came to another door that had been left partially open. Malfoy ushered her through into a room that appeared to be a study. Books lined the walls and a huge oak desk sat in one corner. A fire blazed merrily before two large chairs and a dark green settee.

Malfoy guided her over to the settee and indicated for her to sit. She did, and he sat beside her; not close enough so that they were touching but close enough so that Hermione could feel her already frantic heartbeat go into overdrive within her chest. She nervously swallowed.

Malfoy continued to watch her while she avoided his eyes. She gazed round the large room, trying not to salivate at the sheer number of books.

"Hermione." She heard the husky drawl beside her and though she really, _really_ didn't want to, she turned her head towards the sound.

She found herself looking into smoky grey eyes framed by almost unnaturally pale lashes. She found herself looking into a face that was hauntingly beautiful, a perfect study of elegance and arrogance. Malfoy had one knee resting up on the seat so that most of his body was turned towards her. Hermione sat stiff backed, with both feet firmly planted on the floor in front of her and her hands tightly clasped in her lap. Only her head was turned towards the man next to her.

She felt one of his hands move to the back of her neck to softly play with the riotous hair that had been haphazardly tied back there.

"Hermione…" His low voice, barely above a whisper sent shivers through her body and she couldn't get her legs to stop trembling. This wasn't out of some untameable desire or any such nonsense like that. This was because she was actually _scared_. She had no idea what to do around this man. He exuded such strength and confidence and she was filled with so many conflicting emotions towards him. One part of her wanted to hate him and did _actually hate him _for all that he'd said and done. But another part… Another part was so carefully guarded and hidden that she didn't even know what it wanted…

Malfoy seemed to realise her apprehension since he broke eye-contact and glanced down at said legs that were hopelessly shaking through the thick fabric of her dress.

"Hermione…" He moved his head closer to her own, those eyes that were so different from all others drawing her into their depths. She felt the warm presence of the hand not currently behind her head come to rest on her leg. She began to tremble even more as he came even nearer, his lips scant inches from her own,

"Don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid." She was _terrified_ and her voice held about as much conviction within it as a feather. But she had been in Gryffindor dammit! She was _meant_ to be brave so she should at least try.

She saw the twinkle in those seemingly bottomless grey orbs of his - he was amused. She should have been annoyed at that but her mind had fixated itself on pure terror and wasn't allowing room for anything else to muscle it's way in.

"I'm glad." And, strangely enough, he did sound genuinely pleased, if a little smug-

_Oh…_

His lips had pressed themselves against her own quivering ones. He was gentle enough so that she could tell he was taking her feelings into consideration but firm enough so that she could also tell his feelings were serious.

The hand at her neck shifted so as to get a better hold, guiding her head into the position that he wanted it.

His lips were insistent on hers and ever so softly he ran his tongue along the seam of her mouth. He wanted entrance but she couldn't grant it; her mind and body had frozen. Every tiny molecule of her being was now centred on the point where his skin met hers and she couldn't even begin to try and divert attention away from there so as to manipulate her lips into doing what he wanted. There was only one miniscule part of her brain that hadn't been rendered completely incompetent, but that part was busy chanting an awful rhythm, telling her over and over again, '_Don't don't don't you'll get hurt you'll get hurt stop stop stop_.'

She felt his tongue slither back into his own mouth before his thin lips moved down to close around her full bottom one. She felt his teeth drag themselves over the sensitised flesh there, not biting but unmistakably confirming what he wanted. Still she couldn't give him what he was asking for, her body just wasn't responding to her at all and the voice in her head was getting louder; _'Don't don't don't you'll get hurt you'll get hurt again stop stop stop.' _

"Hermione …" The dark whisper was breathed against her own lips as he dragged himself that tiny bit away. She could see his eyes once again and they were like glittering coals.

He started to lay soft, minute kisses as he traversed over the skin of her cheek. She drew in a very ragged breath, her body apparently having preferred to deprive itself of oxygen rather than risk disturbing him while he had been kissing her.

"Hermione…" She felt the warm breath ghosting over her ear, could practically feel the words as they formed and fell from his lips. The way he said her name made it sound like one of the seven deadly sins. Made it sound like fire that could burn, water that could drown, a darkness that could swallow her whole.

"Hermione … Do you have any idea what you do to me?"

She weakly shook her head, her brain obviously unable to let even one question go unanswered despite the fact that the rest of her was in utter chaos.

She felt one of her hands being pried away from their death-like grasp on each other within her lap. She felt it being inexorably guided towards the seat of the man currently breathing into her ear.

She felt the smooth, soft texture of his trousers but beneath that, the unyielding hardness of _him_. Her breathing stopped completely, then attempted to continue, albeit raggedly and harsh, as if her own lungs were fighting it.

She felt his much larger hand manipulate hers, directing and compelling her thin, shaking fingers until she was surrounding him. She felt his own breathing become more laboured as it puffed against the shell of her ear.

"Hermione … My Hermione." She felt the moist caress as another kiss was bestowed upon her flesh, this time just below her earlobe.

She experienced the abrasive skin of his lightly stubbled cheek as he repositioned his lips back over her own,

"Let me in Hermione. Just let me in. I promise I'll take care of you."

Yet her mind was now almost filled to the brim with the voice; the self-depreciating voice that she had grown so used to … that she had grown so used to ever since…

"N-no." She made to pull away but Malfoy squeezed her hand even tighter around his shaft, his other hand simultaneously securing it's hold on her neck.

She was able to pull away just enough so that she had a clear view of his eyes, his face.

"L-Let me go."

"No." His eyes had changed dramatically and now appeared to be made of stone; unyielding, unmovable.

"P-please." She felt tears welling up though her emotions were in so much turmoil that she couldn't pinpoint an exact reason as to why.

"Don't." He moved in again so that the heat from his skin flowed over her face, "I don't want you to go. I want you to stay with me." He kissed her again on the mouth, softly, gently, as if he were afraid that anything firmer might make her crumble; he was probably right. Instead she continued to teeter on the threshold of an almost indistinguishable line between desire and complete heartache.

Again he seemed to sense this.

"Tell me why Hermione. Tell me why you don't want this." Again the kisses made of little more than a breath of air danced over her face, over her nose, her eyes, her forehead, her cheeks, her lips once more,

"Just tell me why."

'_No no no just get out now leave leave you'll be hurt again!'_

"Please-please let me go." Again she sought to move, again his hands tightened their grip on her.

"Draco and Ginny! They'll be looking for me." Suddenly that vital piece of information had flung itself to the forefront of her mind, although in truth, she had completely forgotten about them ever since she had initially seen Mr Malfoy.

"They can wait." His voice, calm but with the strength of steel.

"No-no they can't, I have to go please-" She jerked violently only to have the momentum against his immovableness propel her body back towards him. Her head landed against his chest and he used the opportunity to pin her there, one hand now clamped around her shoulder.

"It's him isn't it? This reason why you're fighting me. The reason you're fighting this."

She shook her head, even though he probably couldn't see the movement.

She felt fingers beneath her chin compelling her to raise her head, to refocus on his eyes,

"He is nothing but a fool. A fool who was too blind to see what he had. A fool to let you go."

She desperately wanted to believe him but the scars in her heart had been there for so long, entrenched so deep, that she feared they would never go away no matter how many words she heard, no matter how many years passed.

She saw him lean his head down, his eyes holding her captive as much as his hands were,

"Let me take care of you. I'll make you forget…." A kiss. "About him…" Another kiss. "About what happened…" One more kiss. "About everything…" Yet again his lips pushed against hers, seeking entrance, insisting … and this time she relented.

His tongue swept in and he freed both his hands so that he could clutch her closer to him, crushing her small body to his much larger one as he feasted on her mouth. She couldn't help but release a small whimper at the force of his actions and she felt a response in him; He appeared to physically restrain himself, lessening his hold on her, still holding her close but not painfully so. His kiss softened too. Rather than trying to devour her mouth he took his time, sliding his tongue against her own, tangling with it in a way that sent delicious tingles throughout the rest of her body.

She felt him take hold of either side of her waist and before she could truly comprehend what he was doing he had gently lifted her off the settee and laid her down upon the thick carpet, his possession of her mouth never wavering, never stopping.

She felt a warm hand cover her ankle before slowly moving up her leg, dragging with it her heavy dress, over her calves, over her knees-

Something in the back of her mind was telling her that there was a very valid reason why she should stop this … but try as she might she just couldn't recall what that reason was.

She felt the dress pooling at her stomach, the heavy material creating a thick barrier of warmth against her already heated body.

Warm fingers glided over her flushed skin towards her inner thigh-

"Huh!" The kiss was abruptly broken as she jerked her head, her mind suddenly remembering why this couldn't happen.

She reached out her hand to grab the one that was in the danger zone but he was quicker. He pressed a finger to her burning core through the fabric of her panties. She released a breathless cry. The finger was slowly dragged up and down, creating pulses of pleasure that emanated further and further out.

_No no no she had to stop this! _

Through the clouded haze that had saturated her mind she forced her hand to grab his, and he stilled.

"What is it?" The deep voice permeated through her entire being, adding yet more flames to the blaze already being stoked underneath her skin.

"I-I can't. I really can't."She watched as his eyes flickered down to where her hand lay atop his and he tilted his head to the side, contemplating,

"You are a virgin." He looked back to her face whereupon she immediately looked away from his. This time the tears came threateningly close to spilling over. She closed her eyes tight. _Dammit dammit dammit! Don't look at me, don't look at me, please don't look at me-_

"You and Weasley…" She felt a tear escape and soon others joined it. She should have just turned into that flying squirrel when she had the chance, maybe she could have flown away and never come back. Maybe she would even have stayed a squirrel, all she'd have to do was search for nuts and she'd always been pretty good at finding things-

She felt a gentle finger wipe at her wet cheeks. The silence continued. _Well at least he doesn't appear to be laughing at the twenty-three year old virgin … or maybe he's saving that till I open my eyes again…_

"He-He'd already decided that he preferred Lavender before we ever actually got to that stage." _At least she'd give him a reason as to why she held her current status…_

Warm lips enveloped the tears that continued to leak out of her tightly closed lids, the small touch of his moist tongue on her skin indicating to her that he was actually tasting the salty fluid,

"Nothing but a fool Hermione. He was nothing but a fool."

She let out a ragged sigh. She hadn't realised how good it felt to actually hear someone say those words. She really didn't wish Ron any harm but when he had cheated on her with Lavender it had felt like her whole world had been torn apart, and yet she couldn't tell anyone. Of course the Weasleys and Harry were shocked at Ron's behaviour and made him feel terribly guilty about it but no-one had ever said that he had been in the wrong. They had said that it was _truly an unfortunate set of circumstances_, but no-one had ever said that she hadn't deserved it; that she had tried her best to do everything right and be there for Ron and that he had discarded it all. Instead they had said that she should just accept his apology. That _he was deeply sorry _and hadn't meant to hurt her. That she should just forgive him so that they could all get past this _horrible event_. And she had. She had forgiven him and everything had gone back to normal. _Except for her_. In order not to feel that unbearable pain she had buried it within her and basically closed herself off. In order not to feel anything like that again she had rejected all romantic involvement, all involvement that went too deep in fact. Oh, she had laughed and joked with her friends and work colleagues, had continued to have serious, thoughtful discussions with Harry but she'd never let anyone near her heart again. She'd not even let herself know what was hidden deep inside … And now she felt as if her carefully constructed walls were slowly being broken down piece by piece thanks to the man currently holding himself above her. And despite the fact that she was fighting to retain her hold on that safe, reliable place where her heart didn't need to feel anything … she felt as though she was losing the battle.

She forced her eyes open to once again look upon intense, dusky silver irises and despite her efforts she felt her heart flutter for them. But before she could truly lose herself, she had to know… had to try once more to get out of this before she was hurt again…

"You hate me." Her small voice sounded so pitiful even to her. She didn't know why she hadn't raised the issue before. It was a valid enough reason to stop all proceedings afterall, or maybe she hadn't raised it because she'd already suspected-

"Hermione, you've known that I haven't hated you for a very long time."

She closed her eyes again; he was right, she had known. But she had refused to accept it for it had been inconceivable, not to mention inconsequential since she _hadn't liked him._ Yet even as the thought drifted through her mind, she couldn't deny the falseness of it. Somewhere along the way she had begun to enjoy seeing the arrogant, cruel, intelligent, beautiful man. She had not allowed herself to become conscious of the fact that her eyes would search for him when she entered the Ministry each morning, the way her heart would skip a beat when she would hear another voice coming towards her office, wondering if it was him. She had not allowed herself to feel the disappointment when a day had gone by and he hadn't come to visit. Instead she had protected herself once again. Had covered over her true feelings with indifference; speaking to him with a distant, reserved manner-

Before her mind could analyze it she had reopened her eyes, reached up and pulled his head down towards her, fingers tangling in silky blonde hair. She kissed him. It wasn't a wonderful kiss since she was still frazzled from her tears and the waves of emotions that had escaped past her self-created defences.

But she kept her lips on his and tried to pour everything that she was feeling into the spot where they were fused together.

Releasing him from the kiss, she spoke, her voice breaking,

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was horrible and indifferent to you. I'm so sorry-"

A finger came to rest over her mouth, cutting off her words. The man above her looked down,

"You do not need to apologize to me Hermione. You never need to apologize to me." He cupped her face with both hands and wiped away the last of her tears with his thumbs. "You never need to feel ashamed or embarrassed." He leaned down to kiss her, this one was more controlled and generally much better than her attempt.

He pulled away once more, "Just trust me Hermione. Just say that you'll trust me and I'll look after you, I promise."

And Merlin he looked so sincere and so beautiful … and she wanted to forget … Forget about the pain that she'd carried with her everyday for over three years. She wanted to forget it and be closer to this man whom she'd continually held at a distance out of a misguided sense of self-preservation.

"O-ok … I'll trust you."

She witnessed a brief glimpse of his smile before his lips were on hers again.

"In that case, let me hear you say my name." He whispered as the kiss ended and he looked down upon her once more,

"Say my name Hermione. Let me hear my name come from your lips." He stroked her face as he spoke, grey eyes now burning.

"L-Lucius." Almost as soon as her lips had closed over the final letter he was on her, kissing her again, fiercely but tenderly. A feat that she had never known could be possible.

He broke the kiss so that he could look into her brown orbs yet again,

"Say it again."

"Lucius." And this time she raised her head as he brought his down so that their lips met halfway, meshing together.

He moved over her face, down her neck; kissing, licking, biting,

"Say it again."

"Lucius."

She barely even felt the movement before his hand had once again pressed itself back between the burning juncture of her legs.

"Say it again."

"Lucius, Lucius!" He rubbed his finger up and down the damp material of her panties, pushing the fabric further in towards her heat.

His lips attached themselves to her neck and he bit firmly, sucking the skin into his warm mouth whilst simultaneously continuing to rub his finger along her entrance, the double stimulation overwhelming to Hermione,

"_Lucius!_"

Her skin was on fire. Pulsing waves washed over her from the spot on her neck that Lucius was licking and the spot buried underneath the heavy fabric of her now very rumpled dress.

The man above her pulled away and for a moment appeared to admire his handiwork on her neck before once again looking to her. His eyes held almost a glazed look and he emanated a kind of feral hunger,

"Hermione, I want to see you. All of you." He watched her face intently as he spoke and she realised that he was asking for her permission.

Hesitantly she nodded but put her hand upon his shoulder before he could actually move to do anything,

"But can you- can you- um-" _Merlin, she was no good at this, she didn't know how to phrase things in this situation!_ "Can you also- I don't want to be the only one-" _Just say it! Naked! You don't want to be the only one without any clothes on! _

Yet thankfully she didn't have to speak the actual words since he seemed to catch her meaning and proceeded to reach up and unbutton his own shirt.

Hermione watched, fascinated, as more and more pale skin was revealed to her eyes. She didn't quite have the confidence to assist Lucius with the buttons however she couldn't help but reach out and run her hand over the newly exposed skin. His eyes closed at her touch and, coming to the end of the buttons, he quickly discarded the shirt, flinging it behind him. He reopened his eyes to observe her before he slowly raised himself to stand up. His eyes never left her face as he reached down and unfastened the black belt at his waist.

He slid the leather out of the buckle before pausing. Unfortunately Hermione's mind assaulted her with all sorts of horrible notions at the hesitation; _It's all a joke, he does still hate you, this is all just a game to him and you're the entertainment-_

"I feel I should warn you, I'm not wearing anything under these so you'll have nothing to hide me from your view." His voice held a certain amused tone but it was not reflected on his face. He continued to release the belt and undo the button underneath it. Hermione couldn't bring her stare away from the actions of his hands. She was hypnotised by the practised movements. He drew the fly all the way down and now only his hand was covering himself from her view. She raised her wide eyes to his face and again he tilted his head to look at her and he smiled in a way that she had never seen before. Half smirk, half amusement and a … tenderness that was also reflected within his eyes.

And she felt …safe. _Absolutely terrified _… but safe … with him.

He dropped his trousers and her eyes shot back down. A vague part of her mind thought that the action should have been funny; it was always funny when a pair of trousers just suddenly dropped to someone's ankles, leaving them looking highly undignified. Yet this was most certainly not funny and she didn't even try to stifle her gasp of shock.

Obviously she had seen pictures within various encyclopaedia's and human anatomy books but they hadn't prepared her for the real thing. They hadn't prepared her for the protruding flesh that jutted out from platinum curls, it's veins raised and crisscrossing, the rounded head looking swollen with a deep red glaze ending with a tiny amount of fluid shimmering at it's tip. And, even as she realised how superficial the words sounded, she couldn't help but think them; it was … _big_. Sure, he had placed her hand on it but she hadn't really been able to focus on what she was feeling and yet now … _It was huge_. She felt as if her eyes were growing just to accommodate it into her line of sight.

She jumped as she saw it starting to move but feebly realised that it was only Lucius bending down again. She heard him chuckle as he stalked over her prone body and felt her face flush with humiliation at her obvious gawking and clear lack of any experience.

His face held itself before her own, and he kissed her lightly on the lips,

"It will fit, I promise you."

"You-You're sure?" _Oh hell why did she have to say that?! Mouth - just keep yourself shut!!_

Once again she heard his rumbling chuckle and once again he kissed her,

"Trust me." She felt him scrutinising her as he said it, wanting a reaction, an answer. She didn't break eye contact as she spoke,

"I trust you." The words were quiet and trembled slightly, but they were true and apparently Lucius was able to discern that. He gave her one more kiss before gently sliding his hands down over her shoulders, underneath the straps of her gown.

"Now that you've seen me, I want to see you." His voice had returned to the husky drawl that seemed to come from somewhere deep within his chest and that made her own body respond with shivers .

He drew the straps down over her arms and ever so slowly peeled the fabric away from her body. As she watched him stare hungrily at the body that was appearing before him she wanted to apologise in case he didn't like anything. She had never been completely sure of her body, always thinking that bits were too big, too small, too flat, too lumpy … Yet she found it impossible to utter a word. All she could do was watch helplessly as Lucius dragged the fabric down over her legs, carefully lifting each of her feet before finally pulling the whole garment away from her body. He tossed it behind him to join his shirt and trousers … and then stared at her. His eyes travelled over every inch of her and even though she still retained her bra and panties she'd never felt more exposed in her life.

Again she wanted to say something; 'I'm sorry that bit doesn't look quite right. I've never been too happy with that bit, and as for _that_ bit-'

But his eyes had refocused on hers,

"Beautiful." he murmured, placing his hands on her bare legs and leaning down to press a kiss to a point just above her left knee. He then looked across to her right thigh where, about half-way up her wand rested, encased in it's thin holster. He watched his fingers flutter over the leather strap before fixing his attention back on her face,

"May I?" he asked, running his thumb over the tiny clasp that secured it to her leg. She felt the weight of the atmosphere pressing in on her along the heaviness of his gaze. This was indeed the point of no return.

"I trust you." She licked her dry lips and then observed him as he carefully undid the clasp, sliding the wand and the material off her body. He kept his eyes on her face as he leaned up and rested her most prized possession on top of the settee just above her head; easily within her reach, if she were inclined to reach out for it.

Now that it was done, she felt the tension in the air ease somewhat.

Lucius laid a soft kiss over the place where her wand had rested before slowly sliding his hands down and coming to a stop at her ankles, their skin still encased within the strappy sandals that she had worn to go with her dress.

"But what about these hmm?" He said fingering the black material,

"Would you like to keep them on or shall I take them off?" Hermione sensed that there was something more to that question than met the eye but she didn't quite know what. So she decided to simply answer in truth,

"Um - they're quite uncomfortable to be honest so I'll just take them off." She swiftly launched herself forward trying to reach the cause of all the trouble. She didn't understand the true meaning of Lucius' question and that rattled her so she did what she always did when things rattled her; tried to take control.

Lucius hands stopped and held hers before they could reach the offending items.

"Now now Hermione. Let me do it." He brought her closer using his grip on her hands. He whispered against her mouth,

"I promised to take care of you after all. Let me do so."

He gently guided her to lie back down, hovering over her just a moment before slithering back towards her feet.

Ever so gently he raised one foot up and rested it upon his bent knees, then he slowly and carefully undid the little buckle at the corner and eased the shoe off. Again he discarded it towards the pile of clothes behind him. Hermione's mind distractedly realised that Lucius only seemed to treat her clothes with respect while they were on her body. The minute they left that position, they apparently lost all worth in his eyes. She couldn't help but give a tiny smile at the thought. He caught the miniscule movement and answered with a quirk of his own lips yet didn't ask her to relate what had caused the smile in the first place, and for that she was glad. She didn't want to sound big-headed, as though she thought her body something more than it actually was.

Lucius slipped off the last shoe and again sent it unceremoniously to join the ever growing pile of 'things we no longer need.'

He ran both his hands up her now completely bare legs and watched her face,

"Say my name again." He gave a slightly crooked, half-leering smirk.

"Lucius."

"Mmmm." It was such a strange noise coming from a human being; it sounded almost like a purr and Hermione felt her face denote her surprise at hearing it. His eyes met hers and he gave her that same smile before proceeding to shift himself so that he now sat well between her legs, right before her fabric-covered centre.

He stroked both his hands over her belly before hooking his fingers into the top of the elastic,

"Say it again."

"Lucius."

She felt him gently ease the damp fabric away from her skin, his fingers sliding the black cotton down.

He leaned in when he had drawn her panties down to rest just above her knees and blew across her heated flesh. She cried out and felt her body buck upwards at the intense sensation. He watched her though heavy lidded eyes,

"Say it again."

"Lucius." He leaned down once more and repeated the action,

"_Lucius!_"

He looked back at her face, that smile now even wider and his eyes even darker.

He scooted back so as to draw her panties down the rest of the way, once again carefully lifting each foot until the material was completely removed from her skin. She assumed he would simply throw the article behind him immediately, as with all the others, but instead she saw him take a moment to examine the cotton item. She felt her face flush, her panties were not what you would call sexy; they were a no-nonsense plain black pair that she'd had for years, not granny-pants but certainly not something that was going to set the world on fire either. In fact, she didn't actually own any sexy lingerie, she had no need of it and it looked highly uncomfortable to wear- Her train of thought was abruptly cut off when she witnessed Lucius raise said panties to his face and inhale their scent. _Ew-_

Apparently her face once again revealed her feelings since he looked down at her and smirked somewhat evilly,

"Forgive me." He didn't sound the least bit contrite but nevertheless tossed the cause of her embarrassment over his shoulder. Then he proceeded to shamelessly inspect her now un-covered centre. She felt her body tense at his scrutiny. If she had thought it was bad with her panties on, this was _worse-_

Once again her mind was derailed by Lucius lips sealing themselves over her own. She was quite glad to be honest, at least all the kissing distracted her from the increasingly embarrassing situation at hand.

He peeled his lips away from her own and proceeded to skim his hands up from their previous residence on her stomach until they rested on her shoulders, on top of the thin straps of her bra. His lips brushed over hers as he spoke,

"Now then, just one more to go." She felt her body respond with a shudder, more from his rumbling voice than anything else. He leaned back slightly to get a clear view of her before cupping his hands over her two cloth-covered breasts causing Hermione's breathing to stutter. He slowly ran his hands round to her sides until he could go no further since her back still rested on the floor.

"Raise yourself up for me." His thumbs stroked over the sides of her bra.

She complied, using her arms to raise her torso above the floor, all the time watching him.

His warm hands reached around her until they came to the small fastener in the centre of her back. She felt the garment sag slightly as it was undone with a deft flick of his fingers.

She slowly lay back down as he peeled away the garment, unhurriedly pulling it down over her both her arms until she was free of it. Then it was sent hurtling towards it fellows.

And _now_ Lucius _really_ looked at her and _now_ Hermione _really_ felt exposed.

His hands glided once more over her stomach before completely covering her breasts, his palms warm even against her flushed skin. She felt him massage them both gently, seeming to get the feel of them, the weight, the consistency. He altered his hand's position slightly so that he could use both thumbs to brush across her now very stiff nipples. The action caused more ripples of sensation to issue forth through her small body. She couldn't hold back the breathless gasp,

"Ah- Merlin."

"Lucius."

She again saw grey irises locked onto her own and corrected her mistake,

"Lucius." He smiled and then proceeded to lower his head.

She watched in equal parts fear and fascination as he leaned his head down over her right globe. Watched as lips retracted to reveal perfect white teeth and then held her breath as those same teeth gently took hold of the dusky nipple, running it between them before sucking the whole bud into the searing heat of his mouth,

"_Lucius!_" Hermione threw her head back before starting to thrash it from side to side as Lucius suckled on her skin, every now and then flicking his tongue over the unbelievably sensitised flesh.

It barely even registered when she felt something probing the entrance to core. It was only when she felt something long and slender slide within her body that she stiffened at the unfamiliar intrusion.

"Relax Hermione … just relax, you'll enjoy this, I promise." Lucius moved across her chest to her other nipple, paying it the same exquisite attentions as the first and she felt her body succumb to the delectable sensations reverberating through it.

Lucius' finger began to slowly work itself in and out of her centre, creating pulsing tremors that were impossible to ignore… and impossible not to enjoy.

Her body continued to experience the gradual feeling of rising up on a wave; a sense of expectancy permeating every cell. She wanted to tell Lucius what she was feeling, wanted to ask him what he was doing to her, how he was making her feel like this but she couldn't form the words. In fact there was only one word that she could remember right now,

"Lucius!" She felt her body thrust up when his finger hit a particular spot deep within her.

"Yes Hermione, say my name. Let me hear you utter my name as you come." She could barely concentrate on his words since he had sped up the thrusting of his finger, though it now felt as though there was more than one, continuing to brush against that particular spot that made her mind go blank. Nevertheless she acquiesced to his request and panted out,

"Lucius lucius lucius lucius lucius lucius-" Once again that spot was manipulated and she felt herself hurtling towards a place beyond anything she had ever experienced,

"Lucius lucius lucius _lucius lucius lucius LUCIUS!_" She felt her entire body convulse with rapture, every one of her nerves igniting as stars erupted right in front of her eyes-

*********

Slowly …

Gradually …

...Hermione began to return to herself...

She felt her body trembling as small aftershocks danced through it.

After a few tries she managed to bring into focus the grey eyes that were just in front of her.

She felt the soft caress of a hand gliding over her cheek,

"_Beautiful_… I trust you enjoyed that?" The question didn't require an answer but she reached up anyway and with shaking hands brought his lips down to hers since she was incapable of raising her own head towards him.

The kiss was soft and sweet but she could discern a need behind it.

Lucius drew back,

"Do you think you're ready for the main event?" Then she felt it; something much larger than fingers came to rest at her now saturated entrance. Instinctively she looked down and immediately wished she hadn't.

She had avoided looking at that particular part of him ever since she'd first seen it and now she remembered why. She was certain that it had grown bigger; _it was big enough before for Merlin's sake!_ But now it was just … unbelievable. _That_ couldn't possibly fit inside her.

Dread started to enclose itself around her mind and freeze her body.

She barely felt it when Lucius placed his thumb and forefinger on her chin and forcefully raised her face back to look up at his,

"We don't have to. I could never say that I don't want it … but we don't have to do this. You don't have to do this." And yet … she did want to. She wanted to show him how much she cared for him and wanted to show her appreciation for what he'd made her experience. She wanted it to be with him but … _why was he so big?!_

Lucius shifted himself and proceeded to plant both his hands on either side of her head, caging her in, making it difficult for her eyes to focus back on _that_, consequently giving her brain at least some sort of capacity for speech,

"I-I do want to. I want to be with you, I want it to _be you _but…" Her face seemed to go from a blaze to a full-blown furnace. Lucius' lips quirked,

"I can use magic, make it painless for you."

Hermione frowned, she hadn't thought of that. A simple pain-relieving spell would do the trick and yet … she found herself resisting the idea. She was scared yes, terrified yes, but at the same time she wanted to know what it was like. She wanted to experience the act as it was meant to be, not lessened by magic. It was a useful option though …

"Can we- can we try without magic? I-I think I want to try and feel it as it was meant to be felt… but I may take you up on the offer later." He watched her intently,

"You are sure?" Hermione nodded.

"Very well." He leaned down to claim her lips in a lingering, drawn-out kiss before bringing his head back slightly and gazing down at her,

"I need you to relax." He lifted one hand off the floor by her head to run the backs of his fingers over her rips.

She tried to make her body follow his directive. She breathed deeply and focused on Lucius' eyes above her.

"That's it, just relax." He continued to smooth his hand over the flesh of her torso; she never looked away from his face. Instead she concentrated on the smooth skin, the aristocratic features, the eyes that held so much within them if one only got close enough to look.

She saw those same eyes draw closer as he leaned down to catch her lips once again.

She gasped into his mouth when she felt him once more at her entrance,

"Hold on to me Hermione. Put your arms around me." She did as she was told. "Bite down on my shoulder." No, she wouldn't do that. It was a nice gesture but she didn't want to hurt him, _couldn't_ hurt him.

She gritted her teeth as she felt him push a tiny way in, her body tightening up once more.

"Relax Hermione, stay relaxed." She felt his own words puffing against her ear, sounding slightly more strained than before. She wanted to ask him if she was hurting him, being so small, but he pushed in further and the words died on her tongue.

_Relax relax relax relax … mind over matter, mind over matter …_

She let out a choked sound when she felt him push in even further and pressed her head against the warm skin of his shoulder,

"Hermione, bite down on me, it may help." She shook her head against him.

"Why not?"

"I-I don't want to hurt you."

"Merlin Hermione, I'm the one whose doing this to you, do you not think I deserve a little pain too?" She shook her head again. She couldn't hurt him; she just couldn't. The small part of her mind that wasn't involved with all this briefly pondered over the fact that she had not always felt this way towards this particular man. Nonetheless the words were absolutely true now.

He continued to stretch the part of her that felt like it couldn't possibly stretch anymore.

"I'm nearly all the way in now, though I fear this last part may hurt the most."

"I-It's ok. Just do it."

He pressed forward, sheathing himself completely within her, and she couldn't contain the cry that ripped from her throat.

Before she knew it Lucius had raised his hand and from somewhere else in the room his wand had rushed into his palm. He pointed it down towards her stomach but just as his lips began to form the words she had thrust out her own hand and placed it over his,

"No don't." His eyes locked with hers, "Don't do it, I-I don't want you to do it." A frown creased his brow,

"But you are hurting-"

"It's-It's ok," _Oh, this is so not _ok. She took a moment to breathe, to gather her thoughts, while still keeping hold of Lucius' hand.

"The pain … it tells me it's real. It tells me this is real." And it was true. She did feel like she was being stretched far beyond what her body could cope with but she didn't want to lose that. She wanted to carry on feeling Lucius within her since it felt so good to be feeling _something_ after all this time.

She could see that Lucius wasn't content with her answer,

"I could just take some of the pain away-"

"No." She reached up to stroke his face, "No … please Lucius, just let me feel this."

He reluctantly proceeded to place his wand upon the settee where her own still resided.

Then gently, he began to run his hands up and down her sides, as if he could soothe away the pain that way. He leaned down so that he spoke against her own mouth,

"Then try to relax again Hermione. The pain will ease if you relax. And I won't move until you tell me to." He laid butterfly kisses all over her face while he moved his hands to play with her breasts, presumably trying to distract her attention away from their place of joining.

They stayed that way for a while; Hermione trying to force her muscles to accept this unaccustomed intrusion and Lucius' hands caressing her sweaty body with practised motions.

Hermione felt the pain decline ever so slightly, but she was still in a great deal of discomfort.

Lucius continued playing with her breasts and kissing her hot skin at any place he could reach. Hermione removed her arms from their death-like grip around his neck in order to stroke him. She wanted to thank him; thank him for being so gentle, for caring that she was in pain. Yet when she laid her hands on his back, she felt the tense muscles there and she realised that it was a great effort for him to continue holding himself in the position that he was in, but that he was doing it … for her,

"Lucius…" She felt his face return to brush against her own, "Lucius, you can move, I-I want you to move." He looked down into her eyes, and was obviously not satisfied with what he found there,

"I'm alright. I can wait for you-"

"No Lucius, I want you to move - I want you to enjoy this." Even though she knew it would more-than-likely cause her further discomfort she truly wanted him to get at least some pleasure from this, even if she couldn't.

His lips stroked over hers,

"You believe me to be not enjoying myself? Merlin girl, your body feels exquisite." He kissed her gently. "And I would be more than happy to stay here forever." His muscles were still taut and rigid and she knew that his words were only designed to make her feel better.

Her small hands fluttered over his back once more,

"Please Lucius, please move." _You never know, maybe it might help the pain … though I doubt it …_

He gazed into her eyes for a long moment before he drew himself out a tiny way, then pushed back in, all the time watching her face. She tried not to wince as he re-entered her but she was pretty sure she failed. Still she kept eye contact with him, trying to convey through her eyes that she wanted him to continue.

He did. He scrutinised her face for any hint that he was causing her more pain and in truth … he wasn't. The pain wasn't getting less by any means, but it didn't seem to be getting any more either.

Unfortunately she could still feel Lucius keeping a tight reign on himself, could still feel the tautness of his body,

"Please Lucius, move more. I want you to enjoy this."

She saw his unamused smile and the brief shake of his head,

"Stop thinking that I'm not enjoying this Hermione. You feel better than I've ever imagined." As he spoke he seemed to almost subconsciously speed up his thrusts.

"Y-you've thought about me?" She wanted to distract him from restraining himself so much … and hopefully distract herself at the same time. She could still feel an pulsing throb whenever he would thrust back into her but it wasn't getting any worse, _thank Merlin…_

"Of course I've thought about you my dear. I've thought about you everyday since I saw you on your first day of work at the Ministry." She could just about distinguish the muscles in Lucius' back beginning to ease slightly so she attempted to keep him talking,

"M-My first day? That was nearly four years ago."

"I know. But I'd be damned if I said I couldn't take my eyes off you. After everything that had happened, I thought you would have been hardened, damaged by all that you'd endured but you weren't. Your face still held the same innocence and kindness that it always had."

Her plan seemed to be working and she clutched Lucius tighter while he began to drive in and out of her with more vigour. She sensed that the talking was helping her too since it at least gave her something to focus on rather then the horrible ache of her lower body.

She looked on as sweat beaded on top of Lucius' pale forehead and his mouth hung open with his heavy breaths. Hermione thought he was beautiful and frantically searched through her mind to find something to keep him talking, to keep him from denying himself pleasure just because of her,

"Y-You were still married then." Not exactly the best topic but it was either that or the war where they had kept trying to kill each other all the time, and she most certainly didn't want to bring that up.

"Yes, I was still married but it's end was already in motion. We had each suffered too much and my wife had always preferred another to me."

"Were you upset?" She wasn't quite sure whether she should have asked _that_ particular question since she didn't really want to hear him suddenly declare that yes, he was heart-broken over the departure of his ex-wife. Or worse yet, have him reveal that he was still in love with her and that he had been praying for her return everyday. Unfortunately though no other ideas were forthcoming so she had to make do,

"I wasn't upset about losing her. I was more upset about having to watch you with that stupid boy."

"The boy? You mean Ron?" It was out before she could stop it and she had to bite down on her tongue so as not to gasp at the particularly severe thrust that Lucius gave. Damn! Now she had managed to not only bring up his ex-wife but her ex-boyfriend too - _way to go Hermione, that's certainly one way to keep his mind off you._

"Yes, him." She could hear the anger in his voice, but his thrusts weren't quite as harsh now.

"He was so undeserving of you, and you were worth so much more than him. Yet he continued to treat you as if you were nothing special, he had no idea-"

He abruptly moved his head and captured her lips, the kiss vicious and possessive as he continued to plunge in and out of her body.

He released her mouth and she took in deep gulps of air. Both of them were already panting from their exertions and having to restrict the airflow by kissing was not an easy task. Lucius continued speaking,

"Merlin I'd never felt so jealous in all my life as I did watching him. Every time he looked at you, every time he touched you, I wanted to tear him apart with my bare hands and then take his place."

_Well Hermione your plan seems to have worked, he's certainly letting himself go now._ And he was; she felt the carpet beneath her roughly abrading the skin of her back as he fervently worked himself within her. She was pleased that he had evidently stopped holding himself back, but also couldn't help but feel a little frightened at his words and the force that he was using.

Although … now that she focused on it, she could … sense something behind the ache and discomfort. It felt like every time Lucius forced his way into her body, tiny sparks were ignited. Like sparks you would get from a match that was refusing to light. She wouldn't exactly describe them as pleasant, but they certainly weren't painful.

Again Lucius found her lips with his own, not really kissing her since he was moving too much to be able to do so but still leaving scant space between them both, puffing his own breath into her mouth,

"Hermione … Merlin, I wanted you … Wanted you for my own … Your goodness, your cleverness, your kindness … I wanted it … Wanted to take care of you, to keep you … As mine …"

Lucius' thrusts had become far more erratic and she could feel his muscles beginning to tauten again. The sparks alighting from the friction that he was causing were also becoming more pronounced.

"Hermione … My Hermione … My beautiful Hermione…"

She felt rather than saw his hand insinuate itself between their two bodies and move down to the place where they were joined. She felt her body convulse as he somehow managed to make those tiny flames become scorching waves that washed over her. She wanted to say something to make him stop since he seemed to once again be holding himself back, concentrating on her pleasure rather than on his own.

"L-Lucius-"

But she was rendered incapable as he once again manipulated that particular spot.

"_Lucius_-"

She threw her head back, her body convulsing as it once again began to experience that familiar sensation,

"_Lucius … Lucius … LUCIUS_!" Once more fireworks erupted underneath her skin and Hermione felt her whole body seize up, her muscles clamping down on the hard shaft that was buried deep inside her.

"_Hermione_." The word was a darkly guttural, barely human sound.

She felt Lucius go completely rigid above her, until a moment later he shuddered and she felt an undeniable heat erupt out from his body to drench the quivering walls of her womb.

Lucius gently thrusted a few more times and Hermione saw the strain that had suddenly reappeared on his face a few moments ago melt away completely.

"Hermione…" This time her name was drawn out, his tongue caressing each syllable …

She felt him give one more small thrust, the warmth having spread throughout her entire lower body now. Then he collapsed on top of her, his hair plastered to his damp forehead, his chest heaving with laboured breaths.

He then shifted in order to lie down next to her, removing his weight from off her and drawing himself out of her body in the process.

Hermione couldn't help but feel quite relieved. Even though the last part had been fairly enjoyable, she was still hurting and it was nice to be able to bring her legs closer together now that they no longer had to accommodate Lucius' large form in between them.

They stayed watching each other; Lucius on his side, his whole body facing her and Hermione still lying on her back, her head turned towards him.

The only sound in the room was that of their synchronised heavy breathing and the previously forgotten fire crackling in the hearth.

Finally Lucius spoke,

"You shouldn't have done that." Hermione took in his expression. He didn't look angry, in fact he looked very relaxed but his eyes held a strange glint to them. _Let's try playing dumb_,

"Done what?" Apparently her efforts were in vain,

"You know what." His voice held a slightly hard edge to it. _Oh crap, was he very angry?_

"I just wanted you to enjoy it." He gave a sigh,

"Yes I know, but you shouldn't have been thinking so much about me. And you shouldn't have brought up that boy. I become … _annoyed_ when I think about him."

_Yes I noticed. _Her eyes hesitantly flickered over his face,

"I'm sorry." She didn't want him to be upset with her.

Lucius shook his head slightly,

"I do not want you to apologize Hermione." He reached out a hand to stroke her cheek and his gaze did seem to soften slightly, "But I would appreciate it if you didn't bring him up again while we are in that particular situation."

Hermione gave a tentative smile,

"Ok." She glanced over his expression again, trying to determine what he was feeling. Specifically she wanted to know if he had enjoyed the event that had just transpired. She couldn't help but feel that it would be an awful lot of wasted effort and pain if he hadn't a least taken some pleasure from it.

"Ask me Hermione." She refocused on his glittering eyes and hesitated a moment before speaking,

"Did-did you enjoy it … at all?"

He cupped her chin in his hand and brought her mouth to his, softly melding them together.

"It was like nothing I've ever experienced." He said as he released her.

Hermione contemplated his words; '_Like nothing he'd ever experienced' - but that's bad isn't it?!_ _Shit! It was awful I knew it, I knew it! Shit shit shit- _Lucius tightened his hold on her chin and sighed again as he watched her,

"I _meant_ in a good way Hermione." He kissed her fleetingly. "You were wonderful." He moved his head down to kiss her neck. "And I would be more than happy to drown within your delicious little body." Hermione felt her fears and self-condemnations subsiding at his words, despite the fact that they also created quite a disturbing mental picture.

"How do you feel?" Lucius asked, removing his lips from her neck to look back into her face.

She tried to smile, but it came out rather crooked,

"I'm ok." He raised a sardonic-looking eyebrow. _Funny I didn't think there was such a thing as a sardonic-looking eyebrow…_

"Really, I'm ok… Though I do feel a bit sore … and sticky." She could feel a various concoction of fluids covering the inside of both her thighs and while not as horrifyingly disgusting as she might have thought it would be, it didn't really feel all that pleasant. Especially not when she knew that one of those fluids was her own blood from her torn hymen.

Lucius chuckled at her words and shifted behind him so as to reach for his wand.

"I'll grant you, it can be a somewhat messy business." He waved his wand over both of them and Hermione felt the congealed mess vanish from her. Lucius placed his wand back on the settee before turning back to face her and running one hand over her cooling skin.

"Though perhaps I can persuade you in the future that there is a certain pleasure to be had from simply stewing in the afterglow."

She tried to raise one of her own eyebrows in imitation of him but it didn't work, instead she just felt her face screw up into something unrecognisable and laughed at herself. Lucius responded by raising one perfectly elegant eyebrow of his own, demonstrating how it was done. This only caused Hermione to laugh harder.

Abruptly she stopped as her mind comprehended the rest of what Lucius had just said; _In the future? So … he wanted to do this again?_ She examined herself as to how she felt about that. Her body was still throbbing but she could possibly imagine … given some time and possibly some healing potions that the act could become pleasurable, especially since Lucius had said that he had enjoyed it-

"Yes Hermione I do intend for there to be a next time, and many more times after that." Something in her blood ran cold as a disturbing thought suddenly developed in her head; one that explained how Lucius always seemed to know what to say to her, almost as if…

"Lucius … are you reading my mind?" He watched her just long enough for her to begin to feel distinctly worried. Then he smiled,

"I do not need to read your mind my dear. I can see your thoughts as plain as day across your face." Just as she was about to protest at the injustice of that, he pulled her towards him, their lips tangling together, effectively thwarting her attempts at speech and thoroughly distracting her.

"And I love that I can do so." He whispered as he released her.

Hermione mulled this point over and decided that she didn't really mind that he could so easily tell what she was thinking… It vaguely occurred to her that there seemed to be an awful lot about this man that she wasn't minding…

Lucius proceeded to wrap his arms around her and pull her body over to him so that she lay nestled within his embrace. It was the sudden feeling of his warm flesh underneath her own that reminded her she didn't have any clothes on. Self-consciousness flooded in and her body tensed with humiliation.

"Shh Hermione." Lucius stroked his hand down her back, "Come now, just lie her with me. Just let me hold you." Slowly her body began to relax at his soothing words and the calming movements of his hand.

Gradually she became aware of being tired, her eyelids feeling heavy now that all the excitement was over. And it did feel so comfy, resting her head on Lucius' warm chest, listening to his heartbeat, feeling his lips brushing across the top of her head…

"Just rest Hermione. You're safe here with me. Just let me take care of you…"

She allowed her eyes to finally close…

*********

"Father! Father!" The heavy bangs and sudden shouting caused Hermione to jerk awake. Yet all she could see was something that looked like pale marble stretching away in front of her … except it was warm, she could feel the heat from where her head was resting on it. Then she noticed that her body felt different … it felt strange … and uncovered- _'Where the hell am I?!'_

Again the hammering noise echoed round her and she flung her head up from it's resting place on the warm marble only to gaze straight into eyes of stormy grey that had apparently been watching her very intently.

Memories of what had happened came flooding back; seeing Lucius, being led by Lucius, feeling Lucius on top of her, deep inside her-

Once more the bangs sounded,

"Father! Father are you in there?!" She tried to rally her thoughts, a task she found exceedingly difficult since she was still staring into those piercing grey depths.

Then another voice took over from the first one, this one very shrill-sounding … and clearly very angry,

"MR MALFOY, IF YOU'RE IN THERE YOU'D BETTER COME OUT RIGHT NOW OR SO HELP ME I WILL BREAK DOWN THIS DOOR!" the voice screeched.

_Wait a minute! She knew that voice - it was Ginny's voice! _But the other had started speaking again, this one condescending with a faint hint of amusement behind it,

"I highly doubt that Gin. This is one of the best protected rooms in the house."

"Shut up Draco!" the voice snapped "My best friend's missing and all you can talk about is your stupid house! MR MALFOY! LISTEN YOU POMPOUS GIT, HERMIONE'S MISSING AND THE LAST PLACE THAT SHE WAS SEEN WAS WITHIN THIS HOUSE SO YOU'D BETTER COME OUT AND HELP US FIND HER!!" The wooden door took more poundings. _Now_ Hermione's mind started working,

"Oh Merlin, Ginny!" She attempted to pull away from the man she was currently sprawled on but found herself immediately tugged back. Once again brown eyes met grey,

"Stay with me." The man currently lying naked on the floor didn't seem the least bit bothered by his current situation even though Hermione herself felt exceedingly ill at ease. Yet the earnestness of his gaze told her that he did indeed want her to stay.

Hermione weakly shook her head, even though her body, which apparently was functioning separately from her brain, seemed to be imperceptibly moving closer to him, back towards his warmth, his embrace.

"Ginny and Draco-"

"They won't hear you. This is one of the rooms imbued with a silencing spell. We can hear them but they can't hear us." Yet Hermione still shook her head, her ears focusing on the hurried mutterings on the other side of the wooden door. She felt Lucius stroke his hand over her cheek, bringing her face back towards him,

"They won't hear us, and they'll never be able to enter." He kissed her. "Just stay with me and they'll leave." She found that she desperately wanted to follow his advice, her heart and body pleading with her to just do as he had said.

But her mind refused,

"They're looking for me." She felt the warm exhalation of air as Lucius let out a small sigh, his eyes appearing to lose a tiny bit of light. _And damn if her heart didn't feel like breaking at that_…

Under any other circumstances she would have been scared of the fact that she could feel so much guilt from just one small action on behalf of another, especially since the cause of the problem wasn't actually her.

But that was before … before him...

"How can I let them know I'm safe without leaving you?" His eyes refocused on her own and she saw that light once again spark to life.

He kept watching her as he processed ideas. She did the same.

"I could tell them that I found you asleep in one of my libraries a little while ago and you said that you were going back home. While I'm doing that you could floo back to your flat and leave a note for them saying that you've decided to go away for a couple of weeks."

A distant part of her mind was unhelpfully focusing on random points of his plan that didn't't have anything to do with the situation at hand; _One__ of his libraries?! How many has he got?! I wonder if he'd let me see them… Going away for a __couple__ of weeks? Does he want me to stay with him for that long?_

The slightly more helpful part of her brain mulled over his suggestion,

"It doesn't sound very much like me. They might get suspicious, which would cause even more trouble for you…" It did cross her mind that she could simply tell Ginny what had happened. Just walk out and say _'Yes I've spent the whole evening (or was it morning now?) having hot naked sex with Lucius Malfoy. Everyone alright with that? Splendid.' _But she could only imagine what would happen if she did that; Ginny would scream at her, Draco would hit the roof and before she could even say 'It was my choice', Harry and Ron would have found out and be charging in, wands at the ready… Whatever happened, if she did tell anyone they would most certainly not leave her and Lucius alone which was the only thing she wanted at the moment … She just wanted to stay with him, curl up against him again and let the heat of skin soothe her somewhat tender body... She just wanted to stay with him…

"…look I'm telling you Gin he's not here."

"Well then where the hell else would he be?! You said yourself that you've checked the rest of the house and I find it mighty suspicious that both he and Hermione would disappear-"

"What are you saying Weasley?!" The younger Malfoy demanded.

"I'm saying that I don't trust your dad Draco! He's scheming and manipulative-"

"That's my father you're talking about!"

The voices seemed to recede into the background as Hermione looked away from the door and back to Lucius. She felt the sting of Ginny's words as if they had been directed at her own heart. But Lucius simply gazed back at her impassively, evidently not in the lease bit bothered by the girl's remarks. Hermione kissed him anyway, just in case there was some infinitesimal pain that she could help to soothe. He willingly returned her kiss.

She pulled back,

"Lets go with your plan." _I can't think of anything better and we'll just have to hope they believe it._

She felt her heart flutter at the pleased look that spread over his expression. They both hauled themselves up and Hermione instinctively covered her chest and her dark-haired mound with her hands, her face flushing with awkwardness. She noticed Lucius scrutinise her movements with something akin to disappointment flickering in his eyes. When he glanced back into her face though, that now-very-familiar smirk had returned. He turned around and reached for her wand that was still lying on the settee and Hermione tried not to look at his very firm bottom … tried and failed.

Lucius turned back to her with, if possible, an even bigger smirk on his face. Hermione's own face flared an even darker shade of red, _Had he felt me ogling?!_

Lucius held out her wand towards her, and she instinctively reached out the hand that was currently shielding her chest in order to take it, before she remembered _she was naked_! She clamped her hand back to it's original position and glared at Lucius, _oh so that was the reason for the big smirk_.

Once again her ears picked up on the voices drifting through from the other side of the door. _Damn it! We don't have time for this!_ Mustering her nerve she snatched her wand from Lucius, trying not to pay too much attention to the hungry look that he gave her now exposed breasts, and performed the quickest dressing spell ever. She felt herself relax minutely now that her clothes were safely back covering her body. Lucius performed the same charm over himself.

He took a moment to look down at her before leaning forward to lay a kiss upon her lips. He then gently took her by the arm and led her over to the fireplace, extinguishing the currently burning fire and cooling the structure with a wave of his wand.

He held out the pot of floo powder to her so that she could take some; she did, and then moved to step into the fireplace. He stopped her with a tightening of the hold still on her arm and she looked towards him,

"Make sure you come back." He was watching her with that intense gaze again; the one that seemed to wrap itself around every inch of her.

"I will."

He gave a hint of a smile,

"And when you do, floo to the master bedroom."

"The master bedroom, why?" _Oh come on Hermione - why do you think?! _She watched as the minute smile morphed into a full smirk,

"Because I don't want you appearing while I'm still talking to my son and your friend." One more chaste kiss. "_And we will be far more comfortable there_." He freed her arm and watched as she, somewhat dazedly, stepped into the fire place and disappeared in a small burst of green flames.

Lucius walked towards the study door.

*********

Hermione felt a brief flare of fear before she stepped out into the master bedroom, her insecure mind once again condemning her; _he's not going to be there, he's not going to be there, it was all a joke, a bet, he never really cared for you-_

Thankfully they all melted away when she felt strong arms enclose round her from behind and recognised the soft feel of silken hair brush against her cheek as Lucius leaned down to kiss and nip at her neck. She felt her wand slip through her now very limp fingers and clatter to the floor. She allowed herself to lean back against the firm chest behind her, feeling safe, feeling wanted.

"I trust it went alright." She could feel the rise and fall of his chest against her back as he spoke.

"Y-yes." His mouth didn't let up it's re-acquaintance with her skin, making it incredibly difficult for Hermione to form coherent sentences. "I-I tried to make it sound believable-" She gave a breathy sigh as lips closed around her earlobe, "S-said that I'd found out from your library that there was a place in South America where there was an alleged colony of Mooncalves. I've been researching them recently and said that I wanted to see them for myself. I said that- _Lucius_-" His tongue darted round the inside of her ear, "-that there was nothing keeping me here and I felt like going away for a while. I also sent an owl to my boss, informing him of my intentions incase they check there…"

"My clever Hermione. Always thinking... Always remembering the little things…" She saw the silk-covered bed coming nearer as Lucius slowly guided her forwards.

She was halted just in front of the colossal piece of furniture and felt his hands smooth down over her neck before slipping underneath the straps of her dress. Warm breath once again ghosted over her ear,

"Let me make you forget everything but my name."

The dress fell to the floor.

*********

"Lucius? What are you doing?! Someone could see you!" Hermione had woken up to find the ridiculously large bed where she was currently residing bereft of the man who had been haunting her dreams only moments ago.

She had located him standing at the window, _naked_. He turned to face her and Hermione forced her eyes to remain on _his face_.

He gave her that smile that told her he found her humorous. She wondered why it didn't bother her more when he did that; she normally hated it when people laughed at her, but him … it wasn't malicious. A highly strange concept considering who he was … and who she was.

"Hermione, do you not have wards on your flat that prevent people from seeing and getting in?" The amusement was clear in his tone as he posed the question.

"Well, yes of course I do-"

"Then do you not think that I would have the same securities around my home?"

_Oh - now she felt like a dolt._

"Um … yes, you're right. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you-"

"I've told you before, you do not need to apologize to me Hermione. And I am not offended. Moreover, it is perfectly understandable considering the company that you have kept the past few years that you believe those around you need reminding of even the most obvious things." He didn't say it in a cruel way, more a light-hearted statement of fact.

She found herself smiling at his words and glanced down, only to have her eyes sprint straight back up again. She still couldn't get used to seeing … _that_ part of him. And she would be lying if she said that she was comfortable seeing him so completely … without clothes. Once again she heard his rumbling chuckle and discovered that she didn't really mind embarrassing herself so much if it meant that she could hear that noise more often,

"So what are you looking at?"

"Nothing important my dear." His words sounded completely genuine but an uneasy feeling still crept over Hermione. She got out of the bed, pulling the top sheet off to cover herself as she did so, and made her way towards the window. Lucius came forward to stop her before she reached it, placing his hands on her waist,

"It is nothing my dear, I promise you." But she was adamant in seeing out, thus he reluctantly stepped back.

She came up to the window and looked out. Nothing but perfectly manicured lawns and a vast hedge maze that led to an ornate fountain in the centre. She moved her head so that she was looking in the direction he had been; to the far right, and then she saw-

"Oh no!" She pressed her face closer to the glass pane, craning to see.

She could just make out the end of the long driveway that wound it's way down the slope from the Mansion's front door. And beyond the huge iron gates situated between high brick walls, she could make out figures, at least half a dozen of them. Figures who she could see even from this distance, were moving restlessly … and most of whom possessed flaming red hair…

_Damn._

She felt the unyielding body of Lucius arrive behind her, snaking his arms round her waist, holding her steady against the panic that was starting to well up inside her,

"It looks like they didn't believe my note." She tried to keep her voice, and her heart rate, steady.

"Well it wasn't my most ingenious plan, but I was rather distracted at the time."

"Oh, why?" Hermione asked, still preoccupied by the proceedings at the front gate.

She turned when Lucius didn't answer her question to see him looking down at her with a raised eyebrow and holding what might be described as a long-suffering look on his face.

_Oh. _"Oh." He ran his hands up and down her bare arms, causing goose bumps to erupt in their wake,

"You are very distracting Hermione." He began to once again trail his lips down her cheek to her neck. Almost without realising, she tilted her head to the side so as to give him better access, her eyes fluttering closed,

"Luciusss … I'm not the only one whose distracting."

She felt him gently tug her, his lips not leaving her skin,

"Come away from the window Hermione. They cannot enter the grounds and they most certainly cannot enter the house. They will exhaust themselves out eventually." Hermione re-opened her eyes to stare back down at the miniscule figures and thought about what the future held for her…

"But they hate Ginny… so they're going to kill me." Hermione found it odd that her voice betrayed no particular emotion at this pronouncement. She found it even odder when she realised that her voice betrayed no emotion because there wasn't actually any there. Even her earlier feelings of panic had evidently dissolved at some unknown point beforehand.

Her senses now seemed to be telling her that this predicament was hardly worthy of her attention, which was _exceedingly abnormal _since those were her friends out there. Her friends who were waving their fists in the air and quite clearly yelling at the tops of their voices. But all she could do was helplessly focus on the warmth of Lucius' hands as they rubbed small circles over her stomach, and feel the insistent pressure of something growing increasingly hard against the small of her back.

"Whatever happens Hermione, I will take care of you. I promise." She felt her heart melt at the softly spoken words and her body shiver at feel of lips licking her neck, moving leisurely along her shoulder,

"Come back to bed Hermione." And she felt herself being drawn gently backwards, away from the window, back towards silken sheets…

And she allowed herself to be led.

**********

_Lay me down and cover me over_

_Breathe me in and devour me whole_

_Entrap my body and incinerate my skin_

_But always keep me within your arms_

_**********_

**A/N: Ok, now I wouldn't say I'm ecstatic about this fic, though there are a few bits that I like. First of all it was meant to be a **_**drabble**_**, or at least only last a couple of pages, not 30!! It would appear that I am incapable of writing a drabble, even though I do love them *sigh* Also, I know Hermione doesn't seem like quite the plucky fighter in this but I blame that on her bad ending with Ron. I'm sure we all know how it feels when a relationship ends badly and can sympathise that even if you're the bravest Gryffindor in the world, you're never quite the same afterwards. But I know that I probably should have made her stronger, more sure of herself, etc. so please don't flame me for that since I already know! The third thing I'm not happy with is the fact that Lucius was so understanding about everything. Normally I like Lucius to be cold and aloof but as you can see he didn't want to be like that in this fic. Hence the reason that I re-wrote this story with a more aloof Lucius and entitled it "Drag me into you Arms" - see my author page if you want to read it.**

**Besides all that, I hope you did find something worthwhile in there and enjoyed it! Thanks for reading x**


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